WEBVTT >> JADEN, JADEN, JADEN. >> THEY WERE CHANTING HIS NAME. JADEN, JADEN, JADEN. KARIN: FROM LOUD CHANCE TO SILENT PRAYERS, AS JADEN VENTUS LAY IN A HOSPITAL BED IN FLORIDA CLASSMATES AT SILVERTON PAIDEIA ACADEMY, MADE EVERY EVERY EFFORT TO LET THEIR CLASSMATE AND HIS FAMILY KNOW HOW MUCH THEY CARED. >> YOU NEVER KNOW HOW MUCH YOU’RE LOVED UNTIL SOMETHING HAPPENS. KARIN: IT STARTED OFF AS A DREAM VACATION FOR THE VENTUS FAMILY, THEIR FIRST TIME IN FLORIDA. BUT A DAY AFTER A VISIT TO DISNEY, JADEN NEARLY DROWNED IN A PRIVATE POOL AT THE LAKEHOUSE HIS FAMILY HAD RENTED. >> AND ALL I SEEN WAS JADEN ON THE GROUND. KARIN: HE WAS FLOWN TO THE HOSPITAL. DOCTORS SAID RECOVERY WOULD TAKE MONTHS. BACK HOME CLASSMATES WASTED NO TIME RAISING MONEY THROUGH BAKE SALES AND A GO FUND ME PAGE. . >> THE SILVERTON WAY TRANSITIONED INTO THE COMMUNITY AND THEY REALLY GAVE US EVERYTHING WE NEEDED TO GET JADEN HOME AND BACK TO SCHOOL TODAY. KARIN: TODAY JUST MORE THAN A MONTH SINCE THE NEAR DROWNING, JADEN RETURNED TO HIS 6TH GRADE CLASSROOM. >> THEY WERE CHEERING ME ON. KARIN: CHEERS AND TEARS, ESPECIALLY FROM JADEN’S TWIN SISTER JANYA WHO WITNESSED THE INCIDENT. TODAY SHE FOUND COMFORT IN HER BROTHER’S HUG. HIS FAMILY SAYS THERE AREN’T ENOUGH WORDS TO DESCRIBE THE APPRECIATION THEY FEEL TOWARD THE SCHOOL. >> THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE ALL THE SUPPO YOU DID FOR ME. KARIN: AND REALLY ALL OF CINCINNATI. >> YOU CANNOT THANK EVERYONE ENOUGH FOR THE LOVE THAT WAS SHOWN. KARIN: WE WERE LUCKY TO WITNESS SOME OF THE LOVE. TWO WEEKS AGO, WHEN WE WERE AT THE SCHOOL. THE STRANGER SHOWED UP WITH A $200 DONATION FOR THE FAMILY. AND THE VENTUS FAMILY SAYS A LOCAL COUPLE, THEY NEVER MET, DONATED A TIME SHARE IN ORLANDO. SO THAT SAVED THE FAMILY A LOT OF MONEY WHILE JADEN WAS HOSPITALIZED. THIS IS THE SPIRIT OF CINCINNATI WE ALL LOVE SO M

A Cincinnati sixth-grader who nearly drowned during a spring break family vacation returned to school on Tuesday.Jaden Ventus, 12, was greeted with cheers and high-fives when he walked through the doors of Silverton Paideia Academy."It feels great to be back in school," Jaden said. "They were cheering me on."In March, Jaden and his family went on a dream vacation to Florida. It was their first time there. A day after they went to Disney World, Jaden nearly drowned in a private pool at the lake house his family had rented.He was flown to the hospital. Doctors said recovery would take months.Back home in Cincinnati, classmates immediately began raising money for the family. The cost of food, hotels and other expenses were quickly adding up."We're a small school with a big heart, and we're a family, and what happens to one of our kids happens to all of us, and we all pitched in and supported whatever the family needed," said Silverton Paideia Principal Leniese Fuqua. "The Silverton way transitioned into the community, and they really gave us everything we needed to get Jaden home and back to school today."A Cincinnati couple even donated a timeshare in Orlando to the Ventus family. "You never know how much you're loved until something happens," Jaden's father, Dion Ventus said. "When she did that, it was a tremendous blessing. You can't thank everyone enough for the love that was shown."Jaden still has to have frequent check-ups at Cincinnati Children's Hospital but says he is feeling great.

SILVERTON, Ohio —

A Cincinnati sixth-grader who nearly drowned during a spring break family vacation returned to school on Tuesday.

Jaden Ventus, 12, was greeted with cheers and high-fives when he walked through the doors of Silverton Paideia Academy.

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"It feels great to be back in school," Jaden said. "They were cheering me on."

In March, Jaden and his family went on a dream vacation to Florida. It was their first time there.

A day after they went to Disney World, Jaden nearly drowned in a private pool at the lake house his family had rented.

He was flown to the hospital. Doctors said recovery would take months.

Back home in Cincinnati, classmates immediately began raising money for the family. The cost of food, hotels and other expenses were quickly adding up.

"We're a small school with a big heart, and we're a family, and what happens to one of our kids happens to all of us, and we all pitched in and supported whatever the family needed," said Silverton Paideia Principal Leniese Fuqua. "The Silverton way transitioned into the community, and they really gave us everything we needed to get Jaden home and back to school today."

A Cincinnati couple even donated a timeshare in Orlando to the Ventus family.

"You never know how much you're loved until something happens," Jaden's father, Dion Ventus said. "When she did that, it was a tremendous blessing. You can't thank everyone enough for the love that was shown."

Jaden still has to have frequent check-ups at Cincinnati Children's Hospital but says he is feeling great.